Redwood: Servant of the State (11 page)

“But first, to get there, we have to go through the desert. They have an excellent sensor grid several miles around the city. Again, remember the assault mindset this place was built with. Anything the size of a monkey crosses over into the desert, alarms go off in the city. They’re going to see us coming.”

“The sensors are at ground level, right Colt?”

“That’s right Professor, but they monitor the air too. They’ve always seen our birds ahead of time when we’ve flown in for any reason.”

Mrs. Jenkins picked up the narrative.

“Besides the doorways, our biggest problem is going to be what happens when they engage their assault protocols. The city is designed to automatically defend itself in the event of attack. Weapons are stored inside the loading bay. The load bots retrieve the weapons, transition into autonomous soldiers, and begin firing on all hostile targets outside the city.”

My eyebrows shot up. This was a surprise. Who’d have thought load bots could become soldiers? I thought about their arms and fully articulated, human-like hands, and I could see how they could handle a rifle. The idea was not too far removed from Professor Kalinowski’s repurposing them to chop up tobacco leaf. Chilling thought.

“And again, are we to presume they would fire on targets in the air?”

“Yes, Professor. And on any targets along the wall. They’re programmed to shoot at any hostile targets outside the city, air, ground, wherever. If we were to fly up to the Customs Entry, and try to break in there, they’ll fire at us from below. The city’s walls can handle the bullets without any problems.

“But the load bots aren’t the only danger incoming birds will face. They also have catapults.”

“Catapults? You mean like from the Middle Ages?”

“A little more high tech than that. They’re actually based on a type of rail gun that uses energy to propel objects out and away. They don’t store shells or ammo for them, they just use rocks. Their reasoning is, exploding ordnance would prove too disruptive to the desert’s eco system, but flying boulders would minimize damage while still proving lethal. So, they’ve got piles of rocks and large boulders all over the place just for this purpose. The idea is, if an army of monkeys gathers on the edge of the desert, they could sling rocks through the air and disrupt the masses before they got near the city. They’ve got a virtually unlimited supply of ‘ammo’ in the desert around the city, too.”

“Amazing. They really took this monkey invasion threat seriously. So, I presume you’re implying these ‘electronic catapults’ could prove dangerous to us in the air?”

“Somewhat. We think our birds’ computer systems can handle most of the difficulty. The rocks, once airborne, should follow a predictable trajectory. The birds’ sensors can figure things out in time to avoid collision. We hope. We haven’t tested this before since it’s our first invasion, but we’re fairly confident the birds can handle it.”

Ranger Jenkins spoke again, picking up seamlessly where his wife left off.

“If we can get there, and like Eleanor said we’re fairly certain we can on the birds, we think a ground assault can fire on the load bots, and eventually neutralize them. Also, we think we can get a team up to the Customs Entry doorway and break in there.

“Once our main forces are inside, interior defenses around the Governor’s Quarters are relatively light. There’s not a lot of people in there to begin with, and we don’t expect much resistance once we’re inside.”

He paused and we all soaked it in. So far, everything had been presented as reasonable. Difficult, maybe, but reasonable.

“Our biggest dilemma, and possibly an insurmountable one, is that we simply don’t have enough weapons for this kind of assault.”

“How many weapons do we have?”

“Three pistols. Each Ranger is assigned one. We also have six rifles.”

“How many people do we think we can bring?”

“We’ve got ten birds. Each can carry three people. So, thirty for the assault.”

“That’s most everybody not including the children. But not enough, obviously. Thirty people with only nine guns.”

“We also don’t have much in the way of ammunition. We’ve used some of our current supplies in target practice lately. I’m afraid in an assault, we’ll run out well before we make a dent in their forces.”

The Professor’s brow furrowed as he reflected on this. It did look fairly hopeless. Of course, I knew something they didn’t. I decided it was time to speak up.

“Well, if it’s weapons and ammo you need, I know where some are located …”

-+-

I sat on the “back seat” of Jenkins’ synthetic bird, carrying a large portable battery pack. The Professor sat in the middle as the three of us approached AES 3. The bird gave a final
whuff!
of its wings, landed, and we climbed down. We approached the front door, and a waiting Professor Kalinowski.

“Curtis. Long time, no see.”

“How are you, Milton?”

“Oh, fair to middlin’. Brought back m’boy, I see. He give you any trouble?”

“No, we’re just here to pick up some things he left behind. Colt, you and Marcus go get the QC. Milton and I have to talk.”

We found the quadcopter and cleared the brush off. I checked the guns and ammunition where I’d left them in the QC’s storage compartment. They were undisturbed. We charged the vehicle back up with the portable battery pack. Jenkins got in with me, and I flew us back to the AES front door.

The Professors watched as I popped the canopy and Jenkins and I crawled out.

“So it’s war,” Kalinowski said.

Cruz nodded. “You knew it was inevitable. The State always overreaches.”

“True. True. But, as long as the State leaves me alone, I really don’t care what else it does.”

“The only reason the State has left you alone thus far is, they didn’t know you were here.”

Kalinowski smiled. “And will the new State, the one run by the University this time, the one that does know I’m out here … will that State leave me alone, too?”

“I can’t say for sure, Milton. But if I had to guess, I’d say you and I will both be long gone before the University’s government grows as corrupt as this one.”

Kalinowski nodded, his brow furrowed in thought.

“Everything ready, Colt? Marcus, were the weapons intact?”

“Yes, sir. The guns are all here and we’ve got the battery all charged.”

“Good.” He turned to Kalinowski. “It’ll be okay, Milt.”

Professor Cruz clasped his colleague on the shoulder, then turned and climbed up onto the synthetic bird.

Jenkins said to me, “See you back at the station.” 

He turned to Kalinowski and said, “So long, Professor.”

Then he climbed up the synthetic bird. It came alive as its system booted, turned its head and locked an eye on Jenkins.

“Bird, take us home.”

It gave a robotic
Squawk!
Its wings went
whuff!
and the two men swept up into the air and were gone.

I turned and looked at Kalinowski. He gave me a thoughtful glance.

“So you’re going to fight for the Aggies, hm?”

I shrugged. “Why not? The State would just as soon kill me.”

Kalinowski nodded. “Curtis told me about your condition.”

“How about you? Are you going to fight?”

He said nothing for a moment. He gazed out at his tobacco crops, thinking. Mulling something over in his mind.

“Curtis makes a good point. New Texas A and M has been good to us for many years. Now, I’m just an old Ag Prof, but if my University asks me for help in overthrowing the State, I agree with him. I feel an obligation to help somehow.”

I tilted my head toward the QC. “I’ve got room for one more in there.”

He smiled. “Wait a minute, m’boy. I’ll be right back.”

He returned with several boxes of cigars.

“Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

I lifted off in the QC. We hovered for a moment for one last look at AES 3. Then I turned to face the trees and we flew off toward Ranger Station Alpha.

Chapter Eleven

I approached the landing pad, where the triplets stood waiting for me. They squinted to look in through the canopy, but couldn’t see anything clearly. I landed gently, popped the canopy, and the Professor and I crawled out. He dusted off his pants and looked up. When he saw the three triplets staring at him in wide-eyed amazement, he barked a laugh.

“So, these are the infamous O’Donnell triplets, I presume. Boys, your reputation precedes you. I am most honored to make your acquaintance.”

He stuck out his hand and shook Jeremy’s, then Jacob’s, but Jason ran off yelling, “Professor Kalinowski’s here! Professor Kalinowski’s here!”

Minutes later everybody streamed toward the landing pad.

Most hadn’t seen him in years. They hugged him, cried over him. He doted over their children, none of whom he’d seen but heard about. He seemed to know everybody by name.

Finally Mrs. Cruz stepped through the crowd.

“Milton.”

Everybody stopped and held their collective breath.

“Melody.”

He reached out and they hugged. Both cried.

Mrs. Cruz broke away.

“Milton, this is my daughter Consuela.”

Professor Kalinowski wiped away tears. “Hello, Consuela. Or, do you prefer Connie? You look just like your mother.”

She shook his hand guardedly. This obviously was a new and awkward experience for her.

“Connie is fine.”

“And Milton, this is my other daughter, Diana.”

“The lovely and talented Dee Dee! I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Thank you, Professor. Likewise.”

Dee Dee shook his hand warmly.

Professor Cruz spoke up, addressing the crowd.

“Everybody, let’s give Milton some space. Let him get settled in. Tonight we’ll have a banquet in his honor.”

“Yes! And afterwards, I’ve brought enough cigars for everyone.”

The crowd cheered.

-+-

The “old Ag Prof” as he liked to refer to himself fit in just fine with the community as the days of preparation continued for our assault on Redwood City. The O’Donnells offered to put him up in their place, in part to spare the Cruzes some awkwardness and in part because the O’Donnells were just hospitable like that.

The triplets thought this was outstanding, and spent many hours talking to Professor Kalinowski after supper. I have to say, I enjoyed having him there as well. Many nights Mrs. O’Donnell would shoo us off to bed, saying, “Milton needs his sleep. You boys do, too. Go on.”

Reluctantly, we’d end our conversation, say our goodnights, and climb the rope ladder up to the tree house. But I noted, when looking over the edge long after the triplets were snoring, the lights stayed on down in the O’Donnells’ house as they conversed with the Professor into the wee hours of the night.

My work shifted away from Mrs. Ng and food prep, as Professor Cruz reassigned many of us to help prepare for the assault. I helped inventory and prepare all our weapons, helped Jenkins in testing each one to make sure they worked. We figured out weapons assignments, deciding who got what. Then we moved to synthetic bird logistics.

Jenkins told me how the Rangers ended up with so many birds. Officially there were three Rangers in the station, all married. Only one couple had children, the Jones. They had two boys and two girls, ages three, five, seven, and nine. By some quirk in the paperwork, while the State officially considered only three Rangers to be assigned to Redwood, each member of a Ranger’s family were allotted their own “frontier planet transportation device.” So, even three year old Hunter Jones officially received his very own synthetic bird a few months ago.

I’ll never understand State bureaucracy.

Anyway, we were happy to have the birds. Ten of them allowed thirty of us to fly in on the assault.

There was some drama in one of our many meetings surrounding the question of who would stay behind. The Jones children were a given. None were of age. But Mrs. Patel insisted Aneeta and Anusha stay behind, too. Aneeta didn’t seem to mind. I think the thought of shooting at load bots and invading Redwood City didn’t hold much appeal to her. But Anusha insisted she get a chance to fight.

“I’m thirteen! I’m of age! I have the right to decide for myself!”

Physician Patel finally convinced her by showing her there just wasn’t room to take anyone else. Professor Cruz agreed, and helped calm her down. He wanted her to know she’d have a critical role to play.

“We need you and Aneeta here to take care of the children, and monitor communications while we’re gone. If something happens and we need to know about it, you’re going to be our lifeline.”

Anusha still wasn’t completely mollified, but she agreed to stay behind. Or rather, “accept” her “fate,” as she put it.

That left me and Professor Kalinowski as the odd men out, number 31 and number 32. Fortunately I had the QC, which could carry two. Jenkins and Professor Cruz had concerns about that, though.

“We’re not sure the QC can avoid the catapults, Marcus, even if you turn its navigation back on.”

I nodded. “That’s okay, Professor. I think I can avoid some falling rocks.”

They weren’t happy about it, but eventually they decided to let me tag along in the QC with the birds despite the risks. Then the arguments erupted over who should fly shotgun with me.

Professor Kalinowski was happy to volunteer.

“M’boy’s a fine pilot. I’ve flown with him before, to get here. Besides, if I get shot down it’s not such a big loss.”

Self-deprecation notwithstanding, he was vetoed and the argument continued. For a while it looked like one of the triplets would fly with me. They were certainly eager to face any kind of danger, and the idea of zooming through the air on a stolen QC, dodging giant boulders slung by electronic catapults actually seemed fun to them.

But then Dee Dee stood up and volunteered.

“I’ll go with him. We both have recuperative powers the rest of you don’t. If we get shot down, the two of us have the highest chance of survival.”

That put an end to all arguments and the matter was settled.

Another big preparation involved securing the Ranger station’s data. The researchers had years of information from planetary observations, agricultural experiments, exobiological readings, and tons of other stuff. Not all of it had been backed up off planet over the years, and the Professor decided now was the time to do it. For one, he explained, concerns over data transmissions were fewer now that New Texas was no longer controlled by the State.

Anusha, Dee Dee, and Jason configured a transmitter and prepared the station’s servers for the data dump.

“Send everything to Lonestar One. Redwood City doesn’t know about it, and it can relay the data in bursts through the Janus,” the Professor said.

Lonestar One, I learned, was a stealth satellite New Texas A&M put in place just for this purpose. Although no one in Redwood City knew about it, concerns over data monitoring on New Texas limited its use. But now that those concerns were no longer, the Professor seized the opportunity to upload twenty years worth of research and observations to the University.

“Haven’t you been sending stuff to them over the years?” I said.

“Yes, but not all at once. This will serve as a good backup of compiled data. Especially our more recent observations of Fred and Anna.”

Anna was the name given to the dead female monkey we retrieved. Connie named it, after deciding she needed a name better than “Female Specimen Alpha.” The first time she visited it with the Professor, she looked at the monkey and decided, “She looks like an Anna.” The name stuck, and everyone called her that now.

Fred had ripped Anna’s throat out, but the rest of her body was intact. The most surprising discovery the Professor made concerned Anna’s age. As near as he could figure, she was rather old, nearing the end of her life cycle.

I listened in on one of the Professor’s oral notations he made before transmitting the latest data on Anna to Lonestar One.

“It appears Fred might be serving in a predatory role for the monkeys. We’ve seen no real predators in our many years of observing Monkey City. The hunter-gathering teams emerge, collect food, and re-enter the city in relative safety. Outside of Fred, at no time are they seriously threatened, even by the giant snakes in the forest. They seem to be top of their food chain, and the awareness of their surroundings is so acute, even if a threat like a snake came close, they would probably evade it in time to avoid getting eaten.

“It seems possible that Fred chose to pursue Anna because she is the oldest, and hence the weakest, hence the slowest. If so, Fred may be acting like a lion chasing down the slowest antelope, culling the herd of its old and lame members.”

It was kind of a troubling thought. Survival of the fittest. If anybody ever thought Dee Dee and I would start filling that kind of “role,” as the Professor put it, as humans … Suddenly I didn’t feel so comfortable living at Ranger Station Alpha.

The Professor sensed my unease, and sought to reassure me.

“Humans are not animals. We don’t cull our weakest. Neither will you. Morality has prevented you from fulfilling your needs by force these years you’ve been infected. You’re not an animal, you can make higher order decisions.”

-+-

One night after a group meal and yet another meeting to finalize preparations for the assault, we broke up and everybody headed back to their houses. I wandered over to the garden, which had been neglected lately in all the other preparations.

It was night time, and a slight breeze found its way through the outer edge of the forest. Dee Dee was there, lying on her back.

“Oh, hi. I like to come here at night sometimes. It’s the only place I can see the stars.”

I nodded, sat down next to her, and leaned back clasping the back of my head with my hands.

“Yeah, it’s the only place with direct sunlight. Clear view of the sky for the crops.”

After staring up at the stars in silence for a while, I worked up the nerve to ask her something I’d been wondering about since meeting her.

“Dee Dee, how did you get here? How did they smuggle you in from New Texas? And why’d you have to leave there, anyway?”

“I never told you? It was easy. Well, I’m sure the preparations for it weren’t easy, but getting here was. It’s one of my earliest memories. I was three years old, and smuggled aboard a spaceship going from New Texas to Redwood. One other thing was smuggled onboard with me, an extra escape pod.

“Just before entering Redwood’s atmosphere, the pilots put me in one of the ship’s escape pods. They were super nice, and entertained me the entire month-long trip. When putting me in the pod they both gave me a hug, told me not to worry, that I’d be safe, and to wait in the pod until somebody came to pick me up.

“I found out later that after they sent my escape pod out, they put in the new one they brought along, and fixed the ship’s computer to delete any record of an ejection. When the ship landed in Redwood, nothing seemed amiss. It had all its escape pods intact, and no record of one being used before landing.

“It was peaceful going down, at first. I saw stars everywhere, then Redwood’s surface. Then the pod hit the atmosphere and things got kind of rough, and the temperature inside heated up. It was pretty scary for a three year old girl.

“But eventually I landed, safe and sound in a field of really tall grass. I followed the pilots’ instructions, and stayed in the pod. I don’t know how long I was in there, maybe two or three hours. Eventually I heard the sound of bird wings. Ranger Jones was the one who found me.

“I remember his first words. ‘Welcome to Redwood, Diana. You’re home now.’

“Then he took me up on the bird, and I sat in his lap, and we flew here.”

“And the Cruzes adopted you.”

She nodded. “Connie was about my age, and they weren’t going to have any other children. They thought it’d be nice for Connie to have a sister. They’ve been really good to me. I couldn’t ask for a nicer family.”

“But why did you leave New Texas? I mean, why did somebody go to all the trouble of sneaking you out like that?”

“That’s a good question, and I’ve talked with Daddy about it some, over the years. I was an orphan like you. And orphans are often made Servants of the State. Somebody didn’t want me assigned to that position. I’m not sure who that somebody is, and I’m not sure Daddy knows, either.

“Or if he does,” she flashed a grin, “He’s not telling.”

I mulled that over for a bit. If the Professor didn’t know, no one did. At least, not here on Redwood.

“Anyway, somebody in a position of power to do something about it got me out of the orphanage and placed on that spaceship. Obviously, somebody at New Texas A and M knew about it, because they sent me on the smuggling route. I learned the escape pod trick was a common way of supplying the ranger station, especially in the early days before we became more self sufficient.”

“So do you know who your biological parents are, or were?”

“No. I have no memories of them. Mom speculates the State had them eliminated for some reason. She says they might have been working for the University, and somebody close to them made sure I got away.”